In most parts of the country, you can rent a one-bedroom apartment for $1,500. In some pockets of California, that won’t even pay for one square foot of a home.
The average price per square foot of a house for sale in California was $383 in April, according to the California Association of Realtors. But the median price is higher than that in 925 California ZIP codes according to Redfin data shared with Nexstar. In 18 ZIP codes, the price per square foot even topped $1,500.
The priciest neighborhood was 93920, where a single square foot of real estate would set you back $4,257. The 93920 ZIP code is better known as Big Sur, the secluded and highly desirable stretch of California coastline. One current listing in the ZIP code is a $35 million four-bed, four-bathroom that looks straight out of “Big Little Lies.”
The Big Sur ZIP code was far and away the most expensive per square foot between February and April 2022, when Redfin collected its data. But plenty of other, more populated parts of California were still shockingly expensive. Exclusive neighborhoods in the Bay Area dominate the list, but several Orange County locales also make appearances.
These are the California ZIP codes with the highest median sale price per square foot:
- 93920: Big Sur ($4,257 per square foot)
- 94924: Marin County area including Bolinas, Woodville ($2,230 per square foot)
- 94970: Marin County near Stinson Beach ($2,133 per square foot)
- 94024: Los Altos in Santa Clara County ($1,915 per square foot)
- 92662: Balboa Island area of Newport Beach ($1,905 per square foot)
- 94957: Ross in Marin County ($1,846 per square foot)
- 94306: Palo Alto ($1,756 per square foot)
- 93108: Montecito in Santa Barbara County ($1,736 per square foot)
- 94027: Atherton and Woodside in San Mateo County ($1,734 per square foot)
- 94028: Portola Valley in San Mateo County ($1,695 per square foot)
- 92661: Balboa Peninsula area of Newport Beach ($1,692 per square foot)
- 94301: Palo Alto near Stanford ($1,660 per square foot)
- 90402: North of Montana area of Santa Monica ($1,617 per square foot)
- 92625: Corona Del Mar neighborhood of Newport Beach ($1,584 per square foot)
- 94025: Menlo Park in San Mateo County ($1,572 per square foot)
The cheapest price per square foot, according to Redfin’s data, could be found in 93562, which encompasses the desert community of Trona in San Bernardino County.